The Value of Multiple Generations in the Workplace

When I joined the Agility team about a year ago, I was full of excitement for the new journey that lay ahead of me, but was anxious not only being the “newbie,” but also the youngest in the group. Although I was coming in with 10 years experience in the education field, a Masters in Education, and having achieved National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification, I was nervous whether I would be able to make meaningful contributions to a team of veterans in an industry that was brand new to me.

In an interview titled, “The Value of Multiple Generations in the Workplace,” Ladan Nikravan, a Chief Learning Officer senior editor, talks with Carla Patalano, a professor at New England College of Business, about the “value of having multiple generations in the workplace and what their leaders need to know about each,” (Nikravan, 2014).

Patalano offers a four-step approach for utilizing the potential various generations within an organization bring forth. The first, “Take an Inventory of Human Capital Assets,” struck a chord with me. Although I was new to the Government Contracting industry, my experiences in the world of education equipped me with a unique skill set that would prove to be beneficial to the Agility team. After all, we are a learning organization.

Patalano goes on to share additional advice to help bridge the gaps between multiple generations and ends the interview with this resonating statement:

“If you don’t find a way to connect with your current and prospective employees, and tailor your approaches to learning and development to their needs, you place your organization at a distinct disadvantage—wasting precious resources on learning and development initiatives that don’t produce results,” (Patalano, 2014).

I encourage you to read the rest of the interview here as it has applications in the Government Contracting industry as well. I have learned proposal teams are almost always multi-generational teams.

I could not be more thrilled to be a part of Agility Development Group. My team members value my contributions and me. It has been a great year thus far, and I look forward to many more to come.

Let us know how we can help you succeed in this or any other business effort!

-Macaire Eidson

Works Cited
http://www.clomedia.com/blogs/1-ask-a-gen-y/post/5703-multiple-generations